“When we left, that word ‘home’ became very complicated.” –Des Cooper
Listen in as Des talks about how picture books are art and exist on multiple levels, and how what might appear as a simple story can hold even more meaning for an adult reader.
Today’s Picture Book: Nothing Special by Des Cooper and illustrated by Bec Sloane
Desiree is a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow, former attorney, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist who writes extensively about racial and gender equality. Her debut collection of flash fiction, Know the Mother, won numerous awards, including the 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award. Her essay, “We Have Lost Too Many Wigs,” was listed as a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2019. Her first children’s book, Nothing Special, received a starred review from Booklist. After spending her 30-year career in Detroit, she now lives in the Virginia Beach area where she cares for her mother and three grandchildren.
Book Description: Six-year-old Jax can't wait to leave Detroit and spend a week with his grandparents in coastal Virginia, where he's sure he'll be spoiled with the kinds of special things he enjoys at home: toys, movies, and hamburgers. As he dreams of the adventures he'll have, his PopPop has other ideas. He fills their days with timeless summer fun-crabbing, shucking corn, and counting fireflies. Illustrated entirely of repurposed textiles, NOTHING SPECIAL is a buddy story that spans generations, and a love letter to the Black family connections that survive the Great Migration.
Please consider supporting your local independent booksellers by purchasing Nothing Special. Find a store here: https://www.indiebound.org/
Other mentions in this episode:
KNOW THE MOTHER by Des Cooper
Marilyn Nelson and her book A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL
Questions for further engagement based on the discussion:
1. What is it that you want to save and pass on? What of you do you want to make sure the next generation knows or understands about your family’s journey? What are the treasures that you can continue to pass on? What needs to be preserved and who can you give that gift of your life experience to?
2. Can we turn that question outward and find out about someone else? What might someone else want to preserve in their family’s story?
Find Des Cooper
Website: www.descooper.com
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